Ive just recently became a huge Ben Harper fan. Ive already put him up there with prince as one of my altime favorites. His lyrics and guitar playing are out of this world. I best dicribe his music to my friends as Lenny Kravitz meets Bob Marley meets Dave Matthews, add a little folk and add a little funk, and you've got Ben Harper. If you've never heard his music, pick up any of his cd's, Burn To Shine is my personal favorite, and see what im talking about.

I really love all of the other artists you mentioned, but personally I find Ben Harper dull, and nowhere near as good of a musician as Dave Matthews Band. Have you ever heard them perform live?

theVelvetRoper said:

Dave Matthews is good also, but come on Ben Harpers anything but dull. By the way Ben will be performing with Dave later this summer.

Donnie777 said:

Thanks. Well, I haven't heard much of Ben Harper's music besides what's played on the radio. Can you suggest some that you particularly like?

theVelvetRoper said:

Sure, anything from Burn to Shine is good. My favorite songs include Please Bleed, Brown Eyed Blues, Gold To Me, Burn To Shine, and on his Live From Mars CD, he has GREAT cover versions of Marvin Gayes Sexual Healing and Led Zepplins Whole Lotta Love, and then one of my all time favorite songs by any artist is The Woman In You.

Donnie777 said:

Cool. I'll download some of them when I get home (I'm at work now). Thanks!

Ben is a great songwriter and a very good guitar player !
Try his last album "diamonds on the inside"...
He's a Prince's fan , I hope they will do something 1 day...

jimipaisley said:

that would be awesome!!!!

Daimonds on the inside is a great cd also, i cant get enough of the title track I listen to it over and over. the live at the hollywood bowl DVD is a must have also.

hell yaeh!! i love ben harper. i saw him last summer and he's fantastic!! a master of slide guitar. his band was great too.
i would agree that he's not the performer that dave mthews etc is, but he doesn't aim to be. he's all about the music and vibe and of course learning your intsrument.

ben harper is anything but dull!!! i went to a show last fall here in belgium, hardly knowing any of his music, and that show was the best i'd seen all year. he's a superb musician, songwriter and entertainer. he had the crowd at his feet by the end of the night, and might i add that he played three hours straight without a dull moment. and a great band too.. ben harper rules!

i bought his CD after seein' him on somebody's late show and I love him!
I figured i just have to know more about the man who makes his own guitars.

My

I own everything he's done but never seen him live.

A lot of his stuff is mellow but it's all done with conviction and he knows music.

The dvd made me love him as an artist even more. He grew up with a single mom in a guitar shop and when they go to the store it gave me chills. Then when he sings and plays guitar with his mom, I cried. Just powerful and beautiful but most importantly...REAL.

Don't judge this artist based on 1 or 2 cd's because you'll miss what is going on here.

(love his cover of "Whole lotta love" on Live from Mars and his appearence in Standing in the shadows of Motown was stellar)

I got into Ben Harper through a young lady, and I was very impressed (though i introduced her to Joni, so I think she just scraped the better deal).

My personal favourite album is The Will to Live, which ain't got a bad track on it, and has a couple of his best.

Ben is def one of my favorite artists.I have everything except Live at Hollywood Bowl.I will get that,too.Ben is so underrated it's a shame.I wish he was played on"black" radio.His music is so soulful.Great,great artist.

i love the first two albums ben did & some of his live work. also, "steal my kisses" is such a catchy track even burn to shine wasn't my absolute fav album. the second cd fight for your mind was political, complex, & diverse. an all-around great album to listen to over & over!!!